>Hi there,
>
>I've read a lot of discussions about VFP versus VS on this forum but here is something a bit different. Over the last 15 years I have developed two bigger program-suites (ERP/CRM/All kinds of internet stuff). The first one is written in VFP8/native VFP-Data and is maintained until today. The second one was written over the last 4 year and was built using VC.NET/VS2010 and SQLServer (Express) .It was planned as a replacement for the VFP-apps The customers using these programs are shops with a range from 1 to 25 users, maybe 30 - 40 in the future.
>
>Now a lot of things have changed and I have to write a third one. This has to be done in quite a short time (approx. 6 months).
>As the VFP-version is working very well , I think of writing something new by using VFP9 utilizing some fine enhancements from VFPX and using cursor adapters for data access. I would like to have the possibility to use VFP- or SQLServer-Data. My experience is that installing and maintaining SQLServer is more time-consuming and more complex, while VFP-Data is easier to maintain but not reliable für bigger customers. As I am in the beginning of the evaluation-process there are three questions which are some kind of starting Point for me:
>
>1: What are the best books/papers/tutorials on cursor-adapters you can recommend?

Doug Hennig has nice article(s?), Tamar in new in 9 specifying the changes from vfp8 to vfp9 (might be something specific the way my memory works, I always refresh that part), Levy on older stuff, more on the theoretical/architectural aspects. Not much out there, read the rest in the rest room en passant ;-)
>
>2. As I understand it, it is necessary to have the same data-types in VFP and SQL-tables?

no. It is helpful, but you could map the same local cursor to different data types if needed - for instance cursor currency in vfp to currency, some backend where that data type does not exist to some stringyfied field version. Loong time ago we had one app without boolean/logicals and used only 1 and 0 (with constants True/False),as DB2 in customer setup used only that. I still think a better approach than CASTing local .t./.f.to numerical, but both are workable

>3. Have you done this and what are your experiences with usíng cursor-adapters usind VFP- and SQL-Data alternatively?

No problems. One caveat if working with existing apps: work areas on dbf with the alias identical to FStem are not ideal ;-)
If you plan for a new app, consider a rule how the cursor alias is built from backend identifier.
You can get hackish with opening a dbf under different alias and use FStem as cursor alias (had to do that for a large existing app needing Oracle backend for a customer with oodles of licenses) but that was borne by necessity, not free will.

Another hint: abstract your connection object well enough that you can exchange those with ease as well.
Hint: if you want the vfp8 app to use cursoradapter and have a tiny bit of spare budget, upgrade the app to vfp9 in the process.

HTH

thomas (as well)